# 1183 (3/27) "Busy or Full? - LETTING GOD BE GOD"

 ATTENTION: Please SCROLL DOWN this page to find the article titled on this post in LARGE BRIGHT BLUE CAPITAL LETTERS. Thank you.)

Urgent Petition: Defend Christians - Defeat ISIS.
 Go to http://aclj.org/jihad/say-no-to-a-third-term-of-president-obamas-failed-foreign-policy?view=donFrmB&utm_expid=7567081-8.vdNbXkfzQUyJhpww3WXtYQ.1&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=

Walk for Life/Crisis Pregnancy Center - HELP STILL NEEDED. As I've mentioned, while the Walk for Life is now past (and I had people enable to reach 141% of my goal!), the pregnancy center I was helping fell several thousand dollars short of their goal. And so, if you have not given and would consider helping - as possibly the one financial gift you made toward helping girls and women who might otherwise choose abortion - than I would encourage you to go to the following website and make the most generous contribution you can before April 13. THANK YOU! (3/23 - I just got word that two long time friends who already give towards another pregnancy center made a contribution.)
Go to:  http://www.fundeasy.com/m/2190867/

PRAYER MATTERS:

"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." - Karl Barth

PRAY FOR AMERICA: THANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14) Short of that, we should not be saying "God Bless America"but instead "God be merciful towards America!"

Feb. 24th - Rev. Franklin Graham delivered this insight to his Facebook friends yesterday, "I do know that the president defends Islam and chastises Christians, rebukes our allies and befriends our enemies, and fully supports gay marriages and abortion but denies the religious freedoms of those who don't agree. Our nation is ridiculed abroad and morally crumbling within. We are in trouble. We have turned our back on God."

Supreme Court To Decide on Same-Sex "Marriage" - Upon hearing a case dealing with this issue in April, the Court will be poised to render a decision that will impact the entire country, much as the Roe v Wade decision did 42 years ago. The Court could in effect MAKE law rather than interpret law as it is sworn to do. PRAY that there will be enough justices to exercise judicial restraint instead when the decision is revealed in June


NEW CONGRESS IN SESSION:  Let's be praying that the newly formed Congress will not just offer more effective opposition to the President but that together the two branches of government will find a way to pass legislation and enact policies that will benefit America today and future generations. 

World-Wide Prayer Requests:
Feb. 25 - Urgent Prayer: "US Missionary Held for $300K Ransom in Nigeria" - CBNNews.com, February 25, 2015;http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2015/February/US-Missionary-Held-for-Ransom-in-Nigeria----/ "Phyllis Sortor, an American missionary in Nigeria, has been abducted from the Hope Academy compound in Emiworo, Kogi State. Nigerian police say her captors are asking for $300,000 in ransom. The Free Methodist Church, Sortor's sponsoring denomination, reports that the U.S. State Department and FBI are working with Nigerian authorities to find and rescue her. Kidnappings for ransom are common in Nigeria and most victims are returned unharmed. It's also possible that the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram is involved, although it operates mainly in the northeastern corner of Nigeria and Sotor was kidnapped in the central part of the country..."
 Save Christian Mom Asia Bibi from Execution - A Christian mom has been sentenced to death in Pakistan for her faith. Asia Bibi was falsely accused of “blasphemy” – speaking against the prophet Muhammad. Now this wife and mother of five will hang for her Christian faith.She would be the first woman executed under Pakistan’s Shariah blasphemy law.This is the ultimate human rights violation. We’re mobilizing our international affiliate – the European Centre for Law and Justice – and its partner in Pakistan to stop this atrocity. Add your name to our letter to the government of Pakistan demanding Asia Bibi’s freedom.Go to http://aclj.org/persecuted-church/save-christian-mom-asia-bibi-from-execution; please add your signature to mine and over 35,000 others AND pray for Asia Bibi.

Friday, Sept. 26th - Two Year Anniversary of  Pastor Saeed Abedini's Imprisonment in Iran! - [NOTE TODAY'S POST!]

We need to continue to pray for Pastor Saeed - that his health will improve and that he will be re-united with his wife and two young children who live in the United States. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign] 

"Not Everyone Happy with Religious Ambassador Pick," Caitlin Burke,July 29, 2014;

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/July/Obama-Taps-Rabbi-for-Religious-Freedom-Ambassador/  "..An estimated 76 percent of the world's population live in countries where religious freedom is restricted...SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november

Of course, let's CONTINUE PRAYING FOR AN END TO THE EBOLA CRISIS IN WEST AFRICA AND THE HEALING OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INFECTED.

PRAY FOR THE CRISIS HAPPENING NOW IN IRAQ (see post #907) Pray that allied forces will be able to drive the group ISIS back (see post #964)

/PRAYER ALERT- UKRAINE: As the Lord leads, please pray: 

*For God to suppress President Putin’s ambitions to "restore" the Soviet empire.

*For the people of Ukrainen [esp. for the church 'to be THE church']  as they wait to see if the Russian troops will advance.

*About President Obama and  to use wisdom in crafting our  foreign policy, and wisdom for his advisers.

Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.

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"Busy or Full? - LETTING GOD BE GOD" - By: John Stonestreet|Published: March 23, 2015/ http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/27072?spMailingID=10939997&spUserID=MTMyMjM2ODE5OQS2&spJobID=501456419&spReportId=NTAxNDU2NDE5S0

If you’re like me, you probably often feel guilty when you’re not busy....

Pastor and author Kevin DeYoung tells of a woman visiting the United States from another culture. Soon she was introducing herself as “Busy.” DeYoung says in his book “Crazy Busy,” “It was, after all, the first thing she heard when meeting any American. Hello, I’m busy—she figured it was part of our traditional greeting, so she told everyone she met that’s who she was.”

Now that’s a funny story, but as a card-carrying member of the “crazy busy” club, it hits far too close to home for me … and maybe for you. Scott Dannemiller, a former missionary who blogs at the Huffington Post, admits that “busy is a sickness,” and that he’s a sick man. Once Dannemiller told a friend at the gym that he was “crazy busy,” and his friend asked what was on his schedule, so Scott listed all his planned activities—a church music rehearsal, a basketball game, fixing the kids’ supper, a date night with his wife, and so on. The friend said simply, “Sounds like a full day. Have fun!” Dannemiller resented the response. Didn’t this guy understand just how harried and horrible his life was? The nerve!

But later, he started to think. “I wear busyness like a badge of honor. Most of the time, I manufacture urgency in hopes that it will create urgency in others. Instead, it only creates anxiety, resentment and spite.” And he’s not alone! The American Psychological Association’s says that a majority of Americans acknowledge that their stress levels exceed what’s necessary for good health. The number one reason they cite—you guessed it—they’re too busy.

Now there are those seasons of life when busyness is beyond our control, such as having to work two or three jobs to make ends meet while taking care of our other life responsibilities.
But far too often our busyness is chosen. It’s a cultural habit that we’ve all acquired.

“In America, we are defined by what we do,” Dannemiller says. “Our careers. What we produce. It’s the first question we ask at parties, and often the first tidbit of information we share with strangers. The implication is if I’m not busy doing something, I am somehow less than. Not worthy. Or at least worth less than those who are producing something.” That’s a lie straight from hell, isn’t it?

Friends, it is good to be diligent and productive, of course. But it’s also necessary to rest. Think of Jesus. Sometimes He ministered late into the night, preaching and healing. His days were full. But other times, He withdrew, in order to pray and to rest.

Remember that story in which Mary was “wasting time” at the feet of Jesus instead of helping Martha? “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered the complaining sister, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—and indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

My colleague Stan Guthrie once attended InterVarsity’s Urbana student missions conference where one of the speakers shared a very important lesson with these idealistic and eager college students: “Sleep is spiritual!” he said. And he was right; it is spiritual. Try serving the Lord without sleep.

Of course, it’s more than just a physical issue. It’s a worldview issue. We commonly suffer from this illusion that we are in control. We have a hard time putting our heads on the pillow when we forget that God is God and that we are not. As the Psalmist says, we need to be still and know that God is God. Do we trust Him enough to slow down?

So let’s trade our busyness for fullness. As Paul said, let’s abound in the Lord’s work, knowing that our labor, and our rest, are not in vain.

[bold and italics emphasis mine]

FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION
Crazy Busy - Kevin DeYoung | Good News / Crossway Books | September 2013
Addicted to Busy - Brady Boyd| David C. Cook Publishers | August 2014
"Busy Is a Sickness" - Scott Dannemiller | Huffington Post | February 27, 2015; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-dannemiller/busy-is-a-sickness_b_6761264.html